MUSKEGON, MI -- Vance Thompson says he feels devastated, like he killed his own twin, after fatally shooting his best friend in the head during horseplay with a handgun last November.

Thompson, 18, of Muskegon was sentenced to state prison Monday, Aug. 25, for a minimum of 6 ½ years and a maximum of 17 years – 4 ½ to 15 years for involuntary manslaughter, plus a consecutive two years for a felony firearm count.

Muskegon County 14th Circuit Judge Timothy G. Hicks also sentenced Thompson to a concurrent two to 10 years for evidence tampering. Thompson received credit for nine months he's already served in the Muskegon County Jail.

Thompson, then 17, fatally shot his 17-year-old friend, Charles "C.J." White Jr., while horsing around with a gun. He then fled and ditched the gun, calling 911 under an assumed name to report the shooting. Police said the shooting was accidental, done while Thompson was pretending to threaten White with the gun. Thompson later cooperated with police, and he pleaded no contest as charged July 9.

The shooting happened around 8 p.m. Nov. 19, 2013, at Leahy Street and Hume Avenue in Muskegon Heights. White died after more than a day on life support at a local hospital.

Before his sentencing, Thompson read aloud a letter he had written the judge.

"Charles White Jr. was not just some kid on the street that I just hung out with, this young individual was and is more of a brother to me, almost as if we came out of the same womb," Thompson said. "I honestly did not mean this, this was not done in cold blood. ...

"We've hooped on the same basketball team, eaten off the same lunch tray in elementary school. We went to school with each other up until high school, just writing this is making me smile and cry at the same time," Thompson said.

He said he's emotionally devastated and asked the judge to get him mental help rather than sentence him to prison, saying he's not like the "cold blooded killers" and other hardened criminals he's been with in jail.

"Yes, I have made bad decisions as a youth but I certainly am not a bad person ... I've just chosen some of the wrong things in my life knowing wrong from right, called myself wanting to be cool or whatever, be down I should say. I've tried the good life, I did, but the devil is very tempting, especially where I grew up around, the devil dwells amongst our city," Thompson said.

The victim's mother, Latrice James, spoke after Thompson, telling of the pain she and her family have suffered since her son's death. "This young man had a whole life ahead of him," James said. She said C.J.'s little 6-year-old brother cries and asks for him every night.

Addressing Thompson, she said, "I'm going to pray for you. You know better. You know better ... The devil was playing on you. He want your soul. Don't give it to him. Don't give it to him, and may God be with you."

"This case is a very, very sad reminder to all of us that bullets don't have brains, don't have feelings, whether they're fired with hate or without hate," Hicks said before pronouncing sentence.

John S. Hausman covers courts, prisons, the environment and local government for MLive Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at jhausman@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter.